NFH

It never occurred to me until after booking and I didn't expect it to be a problem anyway.

Look at this from the other way around. My point is - why should passengers in the window seats have the right to deprive all other passengers of natural light on a daytime flight?

ermen

because the middle seat cant control natural light
ive had natural light affect me (eg sunset piercing sunlet) or my ife being sat in a middle seat, but unable to control that

should I consider the window seat person selfish for opening their windows thus denying me IFE (and uncomfort due to direct light from sunset(?

jfallesen

1. There is nothing selfish about a passenger in a window seat wanting to be able to use the IFE.
2. Many passengers like to look out of the window during parts of the flight to enjoy the view. This does not mean all they want to do for the duration of the flight is look out the window, especially if all they can see is clouds.

For most aircraft, the choice of a window seat could also very much be due to it being the only ones that offer good privacy. Admittedly, on the 787 you get that in the middle seats as well.

NFH

It is extremely selfish when they consider that their IFE should take precedence over other passengers' health. Darkness during daytime is not natural for humans.

Lefly

I don't share the health impact view. The fact that one person has lighting troubles doesn't mean is a universal shared issue. And I like to preserve my sight "modifying" for the better the conditions around me.
About the seat, usually the window one is the best for solo travelers, CW or else, for a long series of reasons

Lefly

Scandinavians and people leaving very north I think they still count as humans...

dddc

I honestly feel that I get jet lag every time the clocks go back and forth with Summer time settings, so it's possible.

However have you considered the fact that those near the windows could not see their tv screens with the windows "open"? I've had many flights ruined because of glare on my screen thanks to people who've fallen asleep with their blinds up.

What I do find strange is your comment that you couldn't see your meal because the cabin was so dark. I would expect that the meal service would be in full brightness or a high ambient setting at least, in particular for the length of flight you were on, and the timings. If it was a late night departure then perhaps the cabin would be dimmed, but not total darkness for the meal service - sleeper service from East Coast USA a possible exception. I've left Dubai on Qantas at 2am and requested the meal service (I was hungry as I was on from the start in Australia and my body clock was saying food!) and the cabin wasn't in total darkness. I could also turn on my seat light and see my food well enough to photograph and post on Airlinemeals.net.

YacozA

While I generally agree with you on the enjoying daylight during day; the fact of the matter is that you were not in a position to control it; so you have to live with the choices of those who can.
Don't know what you are expecting to get out of wingeing about it? BA turned on the lights at your request and you have a personal reading lamp in your direct control. Book earlier to get a seat of your choice in the future, or don't complain at things outside of your control.

NFH

On the return flight three weeks later, I sat in seat 6K, where I discovered that the occupant of this seat has control not only of the three windows alongside this seat's space, but also of the orphaned window in front of the seat (behind the rear-facing passenger). The same will be true of the orphaned window in front of seat 6A. These two orphaned windows are communal windows, not alongside any seat or seat's space, and therefore I believe that British Airways should change these windows' configuration so that they are separately controlled and not under the control of passengers in seats 6A and 6K. This would ensure that there is always some natural daylight during daytime hours (by which I mean outside any hours of sleep necessitated by time differences etc), at least in the rear CW cabin.

At around 10:00 GMT when breakfast was being served, I undimmed the four windows over which I had control. Everyone was already awake and two of the other three passengers with control of windows quickly followed suit. I found that my IFE was perfectly visible even in direct sunlight. Therefore I don't accept the argument above that one passenger's IFE is a valid reason to deprive everyone else of daylight.

I believe that British Airways should limit the control that passengers in A and K seats on the 787 have over window dimming, preventing dimming by more than 50% during daytime and preventing undimming by more than 50% during hours of sleep. With the technology in place on the 787, there is no reason to replicate the legacy system of physical blinds whereby passengers next to the blinds have primary control over the amount of daylight received by all passengers in the cabin. Otherwise it's akin to a restaurant allowing diners next to the windows to close the curtains; the approach or policy need be no different on board an aircraft.

Globaliser

Which could therefore be any time, considering the wide variety of travel that various passengers had already undertaken just to get on board that particular aircraft.

Unless of course, what is meant by this phrase is "by which I mean outside any hours of sleep necessitated for me by time differences".

NFH

It's reasonable to use daylight hours based only on the origin and destination. The small minority of passengers who might have recently been in another time zone can use the supplied blindfolds if they need to sleep during the day.

corporate-wage-slave

I'm sympathetic, I really am. I sometimes have tussles with Qatar cabin crew on this very issue since sitting in darkness at the wrong time isn't great for the body clock. However it is very much your view against others who will - rightly or wrongly - think you are being selfish here. In a way, you demonstrated the system worked - get a window seat, get control of the window. That's easy to explain, whether by you or by cabin crew.

That "orphan" window is more in your space than the next seat, due to the side panel to that seat.

NFH

No, this system doesn't work. What is the rationale for 10 passengers having control over 35 passengers' daylight? Yes, it makes sense on aircraft with physical blinds, but there's no logic to it when windows can be dimmed and undimmed remotely.

NFH

No, it's very much in nobody's space at all. I should have taken a photo of it.

TraumaDoc

I've just come across this thread for the first time.

Dude, there are bigger things to worry about.

If you really believe missing out on a bit of daylight for a single 11 hour flight is going to do you much harm then your health must be pretty precarious as it is? Indeed the stress this seems to have caused you is likely to be more deleterious to your health than missing out on said daylight.

I suspect the effort to change this, offset by the number of people who really care, would make it a change not worth making.

DOI: Love looking out the window, always choose a window seat and try to keep the blind open.